Mr. Olympia will be held in 2020.
ELSSBIAY MAMDOUH 'BIG RAMY' MAMDOUH 'BIG RAMY' MAMDOUH 'BIG RAMY' MA
IFBB Pro Bodybuilding Division
2012 was the year I went pro.
Height and weight: 6'0" and 300 lbs.
36 years old
Egypt is the location.
Big Ramy, a late bloomer in the competitive bodybuilding arena, pushed everything he had into the sport in 2010. Amazingly, he won his pro license two years later by winning the Amateur Olympia. He started his pro career with a win in New York and went on to rank eighth in his first Olympia. He has increased mass and definition in the years since, winning the first Arnold Classic Brazil in 2015 and the Kuwait Pro in 2016. Big Ramy just finished second at Mr Olympia 2017 before winning the Arnold Classic Europe a week later. For one of the IFBB's brightest emerging stars, the sky is the limit in 2018 and beyond.
You won't get very far in your lifting and/or sports ambitions until you have a huge, strong back. The back muscles aid in torso twisting, pulling arms in and out from overhead, and, most significantly, spine stabilization. You'll be more efficient at pulling and twisting motions in general if you strengthen these muscles. A larger and stronger back will also allow you to deadlift and bench press more weight with less effort.
You'll learn why back training is so important and how to include it into your workout program in this article. In addition, we've compiled a list of the seven finest back exercises for you to incorporate into your workout.
Deadlift
The deadlift is one of the most effective compound exercises for increasing back strength and muscular growth (as well as the hips and hamstrings). The deadlift can be used to stress the back with moderate to heavy loads, and it can often be trained in higher volumes and loads, providing a unique training stimulus.
The Deadlift's Advantages
It works not only your back, but also your hamstrings, glutes, and hip muscles.
Once you're strong enough, you can load up the deadlift with a lot of weight to get major strength increases.
You can also gain muscle mass by doing a lot of repetitions of the deadlift.
How to Perform a Deadlift
With your feet shoulder-width apart, hips back, and back flat, stand in front of a weighted barbell. Knees should be slightly bent to allow you to grab the bar tightly at a width somewhat broader than shoulder width. As you load the pull, keep your back flat and chest up, contract your back muscles, and straighten your arms.Push your legs into the floor as hard as you can while simultaneously pulling your torso and shoulders upwards, elevating the bar to your hip.
Pull-Up
Because the pull-up is a bodyweight exercise, don't think it's any less effective than the other routines on our list. When you pull your body weight, you create an unstable situation that stimulates your core muscles (to stabilize your body). Furthermore, if you're a big guy (say, over 180 pounds), you're still hauling a lot of weight. Finally, it's always wonderful when you only need a few pieces of equipment to do a workout. In this situation, all you need is a pull-up bar to complete the exercise.
The Pull-Advantages Up's
To perform this action, all you need is a pull-up bar, which you can buy or locate at a park.
The muscles in your core will be recruited as you stabilize your own body weight.
The comparatively hefty weight that is your own body will nonetheless cause your muscles to respond.
How to Perform a Pull-Up
Take a little wider-than-shoulder-width overhead hold on the bar. As you begin the pull-up, press your shoulder blades together and contract your core and upper back. Pull your chin to or above the level of the bar.
STRENGTH ROW WITH A HAMMER
WEIGHT: 270 SETS: 4 REPS: 10 WEIGHT: 4 SETS: 4 REPS: 10 WEIGHT: 4 SETS: 4
EQUIPMENT: Iso-lateral Low Row Hammer Strength (the levers for this machine are attached above)
The Hammer Strength One-Arm Row's Goal
The Hammer Strength One-Arm Row is a machine-based workout that primarily targets the lats (latissimus dorsi), but it may also be tweaked to target the rear deltoids and rhomboid muscles.
Hammer Strength One-Arm Rows Require the Following Equipment
As you may expect, the name of this workout is self-explanatory, as it can only be done if your gym has a hammer strength one arm row machine.
Hammer Strength One-Arm Rows Difficulty
Hammer Strength One-Arm Rows would be a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, because the resistance is on a “track,” allowing you to focus more on mentally channeling as much stress onto the lat as possible – which is one of the most difficult things for people to do when training the lats.
FOCUS: At compressions, the switch mechanics of this machine pull columns in a descending bend and then marginally upward. This, combined with the fact that he pulls his elbows back more than most people believe is feasible, focuses his attention even more on his lower lats.At constrictions, grabbing the switch bars rather than the handles allows him to get his elbows further back.
Row with Chest Support
By lying facedown on an incline bench and rowing a pair of dumbbells, you can conduct a chest supported row (or kettlebells or a barbell). This chest support eliminates the use of momentum, leaving you to rely exclusively on your muscles to lift the weights. This version also relieves strain on your lower back if you've experienced or are experiencing lower back pain.
The Chest Supported Row has a lot of advantages.
This move separates your back muscles, allowing you to fully activate them.
Not standing relieves low-back discomfort by removing the burden of supporting your torso from your lower back.
How to Perform a Supported Chest Row
Set a 45-degree inclination on a gym bench and lie face down on it to support your chest and stomach. Row a dumbbell to your side with each hand until your elbows pass your torso. Reduce the weight gradually and steadily.
ROW BARBELL
WEIGHT: 315 SETS: 3 REPS:10
HARDWARE: Olympic barbell and rack
GRIP: Overhand with straps, thumbs on knurling's inner edge
Before each set, he snaps on his preparation belt. Big Ramy maintains a reasonably upright position with his chest area at a spot resembling the moment hand at 10 o'clock, despite taking a moderately thin hold for someone so wide. He drags the bar up into his belly, brushing the warm-up leggings that cover his massive quads.
FOCUS: Throughout each set, the Arnold Classic Brazil champion observes himself in a mirror. He concentrates on his upper, internal back from his normally upright position (lower traps). Furthermore, 315-pound columns are fantastic for dorsal thickness in general. Big Ramy emphasized the two D's, thickness and itemizing, on back days in 2015.
Rows in reverse
The inverted row is a bodyweight exercise that builds back, arm, and grip strength in the same way as the pull-up does. The inverted row, on the other hand, is often easier to do because you are not rowing your entire bodyweight. Beginners can use this maneuver to improve their back strength and body control.
The Inverted Row's Advantages
For muscle activation, engage your arms, back, and grip in a similar manner to a pull-up.
This is a wonderful beginner variation since it lets you to move to more difficult inverted row variations and finally pull-ups.
The Inverted Row: A Step-by-Step Guide
Place a bar in a rack to keep it steady and supported. Your hands should just reach the bar when you lie down underneath it. As needed, adjust the height. Grab the bar firmly, draw the shoulder blades together, and arrange the body in the hollow position with the feet on the ground and the body in the prone plank position.Keep the elbows from flaring out and the shoulders from dropping forwards as you pull the sternum to the bar.
PULLDOWN WITH V-HANDLE
WEIGHT: 210 SETS: 3 REPS: 10
EQUIPMENT: Two D-handles and a pulldown station
GRIP: In line with the straps
FROM: The secret to this V-handle pulldown is that it's actually done with two D-handles (connected together at the end of an overhead link with a similar snap interface), resulting in a folding and expanded V-handle. Ramy's palms are virtually touching at the stretch of each rep (arms straight up). As he pulls down, he separates the handles, ensuring that the handles are as isolated as possible under the conditions at every compression. The D-handles transition from practically opposite the floor at the start to almost resembling his chest at the bottom. Throughout the concentric portion of each rep, he also inclines slightly in the opposite direction.
FOCUS: He has more adaptability with two D-handles than with a V-handle, allowing him to broaden his range of motion by achieving longer stretches at the top of reps and more grounded constrictions with his elbows pushed farther back at the bottom of reps. Although these small modifications may look insignificant, when replicated by reps, sets, and workouts, they can have a significant impact. The twin D-handles offer "more liberated movement on each rep" and "better press at the lower half of reps," according to Elssbiay.
Muscles in the back
FXQuadro/Shutterstock
A strong back can also help you lift more effectively in all areas. Even if you aren't actively working your back, it is still important for weight training. A larger back gives more of a basis for you to stabilize on when bench pressing. When bench-pressing, your lats help bring the barbell down, thus lat strength is important.
Strong back muscles allow you to contract – strongly — to stabilize your back during deadlifting. When deadlifting, this back brace will aid prevent spinal rounding (also known as cat-back), which can lead to injury.
Back Strengthening Techniques
You can either exercise your back on its own or in conjunction with an antagonistic muscle such as your chest on the day you deadlift. These are three common strategies to add back training into a workout, and it's up to you to figure out which one works best for you.
What we can tell you is that you should aim for somewhere between 12 and 18 sets of volume per week for your back. Start with 12 sets if you're new to lifting and eventually work your way up to 18. Pick three to four exercises from the list and divide your training sets evenly amongst them. A 1:1 ratio of vertical to horizontal pulls is ideal.A vertical pull is a lat pulldown or pull-up that requires you to work your back while extending your arms aloft. When you exercise your back with your arms extended out in front of you, it's called a horizontal pull.